Paper-feed attachment for under-surface printing-presses.



W. H. VOORHBES.

PAPER FEED ATTACHMENT FOR UNDER SURFACE PRINTING PRESSES.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 20, 1911.

1 026 938. Patented May 21,1912.

ventor 2M? m v Atty.

"UNITED STATE S gPATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. VOORHEES, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN BANK NOTECOMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PAPER-FEED ATTACHMENT FOR UNDER-SURFACE PRINTING-PRESSES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 20, 1911.

Patented May 21, 1912.

Serial No. 639,531.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, (VILLIAM H. VooR- I-IEES, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at the borough of Bronx, in the city, count-y, andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPaper-Feed Attachments for Under-Surface Printing-Presses, of which "thefollowing is a specification, reference upon a movable bed which ispassed under the platen roller to make the imprint therefrom. Most workof this character requires two or more runs to complete the work, and tosecure the proper register of the impressions of the different runs,each plate is provided with a register mark, with which, when taking thesecond impression, the register mark upon the paper must coincide. Thiscondition thus requires great skill and accuracy on the part of thefeeder and pressman, and the maintenance of the paper upon the plateuntil it is under the control of the platen roller, that the initialengagement of said roller with the paper will not disturb the registerof the latter. With narrow plates, it is necessary for the operators tohold the sheets upon the plate until the hand holding the sheet uponsaid plate is close to the platen roller and the loss of fingers and themutilation of hands resulting from being drawn under this roller is ofnot infrequent occurrence. These acciclents occur mainly because of lackof attention of the operator, carelessness and a familiarity with theworking conditions of the press which breeds indifference to the danger.These conditions prevail only with the fiat bed presses upon which thefiner grades of engraved work are done, the rotary presses being soconstructed as not to allow the hands to come near the platen rollerduring the feeding operation.

The main object of the invention is to provide a paper feed attachmentfor flat bed presses which will engage and hold the paper, after theproper register has been secured, upon the plate without causing atransfer of any of the ink to the paper and until the platen roller hasengaged said paper.

A further object is to provide an attachment which will be applied toand movable with the movable bed of the press, and which will beautomatically disengaged from the paper after the platen roller hasengaged the paper and prior to the completion of the passage of theplate under said roller to prevent the engagement of said feedingattachment with the said roller.

A still further object is to provide an attachment of this characterwherein the hold ing fingers will be automatically shifted by contactwith a fixed actuating member having the proper predetermined relationto the platen roller to insure the proper engagement of said roller withthe paper prior to the disengagement of the fingers therewith and toprovide the proper clearance above the plate in passing under the platenroller.

A still further object is to provide an attachment of the characterimmediately above described, wherein the releasing mechanism for thefingers may be adjusted to accommodate types of plates of differentshapes and sizes.

A still further object is to provide an attachment of this characterwherein the holda ing fingers will clamp the sheet upon the plate in amanner to prevent the displacement of the sheet and at the same timeavoid such pressure upon the sheet as would result in a transfer of inkfrom the intaglio lines to the sheet, at any point thereof.

A still further object is to provide an attachment of this characterwherein the feeder may readily set the holding fingers while the plateis moving toward the platen roller, thus leaving both hands of thefeeder free so as to permit greater, freedom of movement in removing thesheet from the plate upon the other side of theplaten roller:

A still further object is to provide in an attachment of this charactermeans which will cause the gripper mechanism or fingers to lightly'clampthe sheet upon the plate when the attachment is set and will hold saidfingers below the'plane of the plate when said fingers are releasedafter the engagement of the sheet between the plate and the platenroller in a manner to prevent any jarring or vibration of the plate bedfrom displacing said fingers to cause their accidental engagement withthe platen roller or other parts of the machine.

A still further object is to provide an attachment of this characterwherein the holding fingers may be adjusted to accommodate the device tosheets of different sizes.

A still further object is to provide an attachment of this characterwherein the moment of throw-off of the holding fingers may be varied toadapt the device to sheets of different widths. And a still furtherobject is to provide an attachment of this character which may beapplied to the ordinary flat bed press without requiring anyreorganization of parts.

The invention consists primarily in a paper feed attachment for undersurface printing presses embodying therein a plurality of vibratoryfingers mounted upon the work bed and adapted to engage and rest upon asheet upon the engraved plate, means whereby said fingers may be throwninto engagement with the sheet, and automatically operating meansadapted to disengage said fingers from said sheet when the forward edgeof the plate and the sheet have passed under the platen roller; and insuch other novel features of construction and combination of parts asare hereinafter set forth and described, and more particularlypointedout in the claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawings :Figure- 1 is a plan view of a portion of anunder surface printing press with my attachment applied thereto, Fig. 2is a side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is adetailed perspective view of the holding finger mechanism alone,andFig.4 is a detail view showing the stop mechanism for limiting themovement of the fingers when rendered inoperative.

Like letters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings, 421 indicatesan ordinary reciprocatory flat bed upon which is mounted the engraved orintaglio plate 7). The worm 0 is alternately rotated in oppositedirections to reciprocate the bed a and mounted above said bed is theplaten or D- roll (Z. The parts illustrated are an old and well knownconstruction of flat bed under surface printing press which is merelyone type of fiat bed press in connection with which my invention may beutilized. When feeding presses of this type great care, accuracy andskill are required, and heretofore, it has been necessary for thepressman to hold one end of the paper and the feeder to hold the otherend thereof, as the bed advances toward the platen roll (Z,

until said roll has actually engaged the forward edge of the sheet ofpaper so as to insure the proper relation of the sheet to the pressduring the moment when the imprint is being taken. To obviate thenecessity for so holding the paper, I mount upon the rear edge of saidbed plate, a rotary shaft 6 having ,mounted thereon a plurality ofdownwardly arranged holding fingers f adapted to extend over the bedplate and to be forced down upon the rear edge of the sheet of paper andpress it against the plate in amanner to hold it firmly againstdisplacement. Preferably these fingers are mounted upon said shaft 6 bymeans of the collars g and set screws so as to permit the lateral andcircular adjustment of the fingers upon the shaft 6 in a manner topermit the attachment to be used with different sized plates and sheetsand regulate the pressure exerted by said fingers. Carried centrally ofthe shaft 6 is an angular block 72. against which a leaf spring 2'carried by the bed acts to develop the requisite pressure of the fingersupon the sheet, or to hold said fingers in the inverted, inoperativeposition below the surface of the plate and prevent such displacement ofthe fingers as might result in interference during the reciprocation ofthe bed.

Mounted upon either end of the shaft 6 is an arm one face of which isprovided with a cam surface j by means of which the shaft 6 isautomatically rotated to raise the holding fingers f out of engagementwith the paper and oscillate the shaft 6 to throw them below the surfaceof the plate in a manner to leave the proper clearance between them andthe platen roll during the continued reciprocation of the bed plateafter the imprint has been taken.

To limit the movement of the shaft 6 to that necessary to properlyposition the fingers f during the return movement of the bed plate, Iprovide the stops Z upon the shaft 6. The moment of actuation of thefingers in the manner described should be at a certain predeterminedpoint in the reciprocation of the bed, and to accomplish this result, Iarrange upon the rail of the machine an abutment is projecting into thepath of the arm j in a manner to be engaged by the cam surface 7" uponsaid arm. To permit the adjustment of the attachment to sheets ofdifferent widths, I provide the base of said abutment with an elongatedslot and provide a plurality of set screws in order to permit saidabutment to be adjusted longitudinally of the machine to vary the momentof disengagement of the fingers from the paper.

The operation of the herein described attachment is substantially asfollows :When the pressman has completed polishing the plate, the feedertakes the dampened sheet of paper and lays it manually upon the platewith the register mark thereon in register with the corresponding markupon the plate, the pressman in the meanwhile adjusting the side of thesheet toward him in a similar manner. The feeder then gives to the shaft6 a half rotation by means of the arm j thereon, causing the fingers fto engage the sheet and hold it in position upon the plate. The pressmanthen trips the press, and the Work bed including the feeding attachmentis advanced under the platen or D-roll 0?, both hands of the feederbeing free so as to permit him or her to conveniently remove the sheetfrom the plate after it has passed the platen roll (Z. This manner ofholding the sheet permits both the feeder and the pressman to removetheir hands from the sheet prior to the initiation of the movement ofthe bed, and thus precludes any necessity for endangering their fingersor hands. The fingers f contacting with the sheet at different pointsalso prevent any such movement of the sheet as would cause it to becomedisplaced prior to engagement with the platen or Droll, and thusminimize likelihood of an accident due to the efforts of the operativeto straighten or remove the sheet after the bed is in mo tion. As thefeeder sets the fingers f upon the sheet through the rotation of theshaft 6, the block it thereon forces the spring 2' outwardly, thetension of this spring upon the angular side of the block h above thecenter of the shaft 6 developing the requisite pressure upon the paperthrough the fingers f. If it be desired to increase this pressure,

" the said fingers 7 may be set slightly toward the bed plate upon theshaft 6, thus increasing'the moment of the spring during the interval ofengagement of the fingers with the paper. The small contact area of thefingers f and their limited extent of projection over the engraved plate6 prevents the smutting of the paper which result is also due to thelightness of the pressure exerted by said fingers. As the bed advances,the cam surface j upon the arm j engages the abutment is which beingabove the shaft e throws the said arm upwardly and imparts to the shaft0, a half rotation so as to entirely remove the fingers f from the paperand throw them backwardly below the plane of the plate 0 where they areheld by the spring 2' acting on the flat surface of the block it. Thisis essential, as after the plate leaves the platen or D-roll (Z, it hasto pass under the wiping and inking mechanism and return under the saidplaten or D-roll, and any projections above said plate would interferewith other operative parts of the machine and preclude the use of theabutment. Upon the return movement of the bed a, the arm 7' passes underthe abutment 7c and when the bed comes to rest the feed ing attachmentis set preparatory to the next operation of the machine. While, ifdesired, automatic means may be employed for setting the fingers, suchare not necessary as the interval of rest during which the pressmanpolishes the plate, and the paper is accurately positioned thereon,affords ample time for the manual operation of the attachment.

So far as I am informed, no attachments for holding the paper upon theplate in under surface printing presses have heretofore been used, and Ibelieve such to be broadly new.

It is not my intention to limit myself to the precise details ofconstruction shown in the accompanying drawings, it being apparent thatsuch may be varied without departing from the spirit or scope of theinvention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to haveprotected by Letters Patent, is

1. A paper feed attachment for under surface printing presses having areciprocating work bed, a plate thereon, and a platen roller under whichsaid bed passes, embodying therein, holding members mounted upon andmovable with'the work bed, and adapted to engage and rest upon a sheetupon the engraved plate, and automatically operating means embodyingtherein an actuating element arranged in advance of the platen rollerwhereby said members are disengaged from said sheet when the forwardedge of the plate and the sheet have passed under the platen roller.

2. A paper feed attachment for under surface printing presses having areciprocating work bed, a plate thereon, and a platen roller under whichsaid bed passes, embodying therein, a plurality of vibratory fingersmounted upon and movable with the work bed and adapted to engage andrest upon a sheet upon the engraved plate, means whereby said fingersmay be thrown into engagement with the sheet, and automaticallyoperating means embodying therein an actuating element arranged inadvance of the platen roller whereby said fingers are disengaged fromthe sheet when the forward edge of the plate and the sheet have passedunder the platen roller.

8. A paper feed attachment for under surface printing presses having areciprocating work bed, a plate thereon, and a platen roller under whichsaid bed passes, embodying therein, holding members mounted upon andmovable with the work bed, and adapted to engage and rest upon a sheetupon the engraved plate, means applying yielding pressure to saidholding members, and automatically operating means embodying therein anactuating element arranged in advance of the platen roller whereby saidfingers are disengaged from the sheet when the forward edge of the plateand the sheet have passed under the platen roller.

4:. A paper feed attachment for under surface printing presses having areciprocating work bed, a plate thereon, and a platen roller under whichsaid bed passes, embodying therein, a plurality of vibratory fingersmounted upon and movable with the work bed and adapted to engage andrest upon a sheet upon the engraved plate, means applying uniformpressure to each of said fingers, means whereby said fingers may bethrown into engagement with the sheet, and automatically operating meansembodying therein an actuating element arranged in advance of the platenroller whereby said fingers are disengaged from the sheet when theforward edge of the plate and the sheet have passed under the platenroller.

5. A paper feed attachment for under surface printing presses having areciprocating work bed, a plate thereon, and a platen roller under whichsaid bed passes, embodying therein, a rotatable shaft mounted upon andmovable with the work bed, a plurality of radially projecting holdingfingers mounted upon said shaft, said fingers being adapted to projectover the work bed and engage a sheet upon the engraved plate, an armcarried by said shaft whereby said shaft may be rotated, and a fixedabutment arranged in advance of the platen roller adjacent to said bedand adapted to engage said arm whereby said shaft will be automaticallyrotated to disengage said fingers from the sheet when the forward edgeof the sheet and the plate have passed under the platen roller.

6. A paper feed attachment for under surface printing presses having areciprocating work bed, a plate thereon, and a platen roller under whichsaid bed passes, embodying therein, a rotatable shaft mounted upon andmovable with the work bed, a plurality of radially projecting holdingfingers mounted upon said shaft, said fingers being adapted to projectover the work bed and engage a sheet upon the engraved plate, a springacting upon said shaft whereby a yielding pressure is exerted upon thesheet through said fingers, an arm carried by said shaft whereby saidshaft may be rotated, and a fixed abutmentadjacent to said bed andadapted to engage said arm whereby said shaft will be automaticallyrotated to dis engage said fingers from the sheet when the forward edgeof the sheet and the plate have passed under the platen roller.

7. A paper feed attachment for under surface printing presses having areciprocating work bed, a plate thereon, and a platen roller under whichsaid bed passes, embodying therein, a rotatable shaft mounted upon andmovable with the work bed, a plurality of radially projecting holdingfingers mounted upon said shaft, said fingers being adapted to projectover the work bed and engage a sheet upon the engraved plate, a springact-ing upon said shaft whereby a yielding pressure is exerted upon thesheet through said fingers, means whereby said fingers may be adjustedcircumferentially of said shaft to vary the pressure exerted by saidfingers, an arm carried by said shaft whereby said shaft may be rotated,and a fixed abutment adjacent to said bed and adapted to engage said armwhereby said shaft will be automatically rotated to disengage saidfingers from the sheet when the forward edge of the sheet and the platehave passed under the platen roller.

8. A paper feed attachment for under surface printing presses having areciprocating work bed, a plate thereon, and a platen roller under whichsaid bed passes, embodying therein, a rotatable shaft mounted upon andmovable with the work bed, a plurality of radially projecting holdingfingers mounted upon said shaft, said fingers being adapted to projectover the work bed and engage a sheet upon the engraved plate, meanswhereby said fingers may be adjusted aXially of said shaft toaccommodate the attachment to sheets of various sizes, an arm car- 9ried by said shaft whereby said shaft may be rotated, and a fixedabutment adjacent to said bed and adapted to engage said arm wherebysaid shaft will be automatically rotated to disengage said fingers fromthe sheet when the forward edge of thesheet and the plate have passedunder the platen roller.

9. A paper feed attachment for under surface printing presses having areciprocating work bed, a plate thereon, and a platen roller under whichsaid bed passes, embodying therein, a rotatable shaft mounted upon andmovable with the work bed, a plurality of radially projecting holdingfingers mounted upon said shaft, said fingers being adapted to projectover the work bed and engage a sheet upon the engraved plate, a blockcarried by and rotatable with said shaft and having flat surfaces upondiametrically opposite points of said shaft, a leaf spring adapted tobear upon said block, whereby a yielding pressure is applied to saidfingers, through said shaft, and said fingers are held in the operativeor inoperative position, an arm carried by said shaft whereby said shaftmay be rotated, and a fixed abutment adjacent to said bed and adapted toengage said arm whereby said shaft will be automatically rotated todisengage said fingers from the sheet when the forward edge of the sheetand the plate have passed under the platen roller.

10. A paper feed attachment for under surface printing presses having areciproeating work bed, a plate thereon, and a platen roller under whichsaid bed passes, embodying therein, a rotatable shaft mounted upon andmovable with the work bed, a plurality of radially projecting holdingfingers mounted upon said shaft, said fingers being adapted to projectover the work bed and engage a sheet upon the engraved plate, a blockcarried by and rotatable with said shaft and having flat surfaces upondiametrically opposite points of said shaft, a leaf spring adapted tobear upon said block whereby a yielding pressure is applied to saidfingers through said shaft, and said fingers are held in the operativeor inoperative position, supplemental positive stops for limiting themovement of said shaft, an arm carried by said shaft whereby said shaftmay be rotated, and a fixed abutment adjacent to said bed and adapted toengage said arm whereby said shaft will be automatically rotated todisengage said fingers from the sheet when the forward edge of the sheetand the plate have passed under the platen roller.

11. A paper feed attachment for under surface printing presses having areciprocating work bed, a plate thereon, and a platen roller under whichsaid bed passes, embodying therein, a rotatable shaft mounted upon andmovable with the work bed, a plurality of radially projecting holdingfingers mounted upon said shaft, said fingers being adapted to projectover the work bed and engage a sheet upon the engraved plate, an armcarried by said shaft whereby said shaft may be rotated, a fixedabutment adjacent to said bed and adapted to engage said arm wherebysaid shaft will be automatically rotated to disengage said fingers fromthe sheet when the forward edge of the sheet and the plate have passedunder the platen roller, and means whereby said abutment may be adjustedlongitudinally of the machine to vary the moment of disengagement of thefingers from the sheet.

12. A paper feed attachment for under surface printing presses having areciprocating work bed, a plate thereon, and a platen roller under whichsaid bed passes,

embodying therein, holding members mounted upon and movable with thework bed, and adapted to engage and rest upon a sheet upon the engravedplate, automatically operating means whereby said members are disengagedfrom said sheet when the forward edge of the plate and the sheet havepassed under the platen roller, and means whereby the operative momentof said automatically operating means may be varied to adapt theattachment to work of different slzes.

surface printing presses having a reciprocating work bed, a platethereon, and a platen roller under which said bed passes, embodyingtherein, holding members mounted upon and movable with the work bed andadapted to engage and rest upon asheet upon the engraved plate, meanswhereby said members may be positioned below the surface of the platewhereby when said members are inoperative the work bed and itsattachment may move freely under the inking and wiping mechanism and theplaten roller, and automatically operating means for actuating said lastnamed means whereby said members are disengaged from said sheet when theforward edge of the plate and the sheet have passed under the platenroller.

14. A paper feed attachment for under surface printing presses having areciprocating work bed, a plate thereon, and a platen roller under whichsaid bed passes, embodying therein, holding members operative during aportion of the feeding movement of the bed, and means arranged inadvance of the platen roller whereby said members are renderedinoperative while said bed is passing under the platen roller and duringthe balance of the movement of said bed.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature, in thepresence of two witnesses, this 17th day of July, 1911.

'WILLIAM H. VOORHEES.

Witnesses:

P. G. HANNA, EUGENE WENING.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

13. A paper feed attachment for under

